U.S. reiterates that doors remain open for N. Korea to resume talks

WASHINGTON/SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- The United States remains open to holding talks with North Korea and is very clear about that position, its State Department has said, after North Korea urged for "a new method" to break the impasse in the stalled denuclearization negotiations.

The State Department's comment came in response to a query by Yonhap News Agency regarding a remark by North Korea's foreign ministry on Friday. Pyongyang said the talks won't resume unless Washington comes up with a "new method of calculation," blaming the U.S. for the no-deal Hanoi summit in February.

Reaffirming the U.S. stance, the State Department said the Trump administration sticks to the Singapore agreement signed by the two countries' leaders, to commit to the complete denuclearization of the North and to building a lasting peace.

It also said the U.S. is ready to have a constructive discussion with the North to advance the process "simultaneously and in parallel."

Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have made little headway since the Hanoi summit of Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump ended without a deal. They failed to reach common ground on the scope of denuclearization by the communist state and Washington's sanctions relief.